Dispensing container for roll labels

ABSTRACT

THE DISPENSING CONTAINER INCLUDES AN UPPER WALL HAVING AN OUTWARDLY TURNED FLANGE, THE FLANGE INCLUDING A SEPARATING EDGE; AND A HINGED LID ALSO HAVING AN OUTWARDLY TURNED FLANGE. THE FLANGES ARC ADJACENT WHEN THE LID IS CLOSED. THE BEND LINES AT THE JUNCTURE OF THE UPPER WALL AND ITS FLANGE, AND THE LID AND ITS FLANGE, DEFINE A THROAT RECEIVING THE LOADED STRIP OF LABELS. THE LID BEND LINE PROVIDES A PRESSURE EDGE ADJUSTABLY DISPOSED RELATIVE TO THE LOADED STRIP. THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTAINER IS SUBDIVIDED INTO A PLURALITY OF STALLS EACH ACCOMMODATING ONE ROLL. A GUIDE PLATE ABOVE THE UPPER PLATE INCLUDES A PLURALITY OF DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING TABS FORMING SLOTS IN REGISTER WITH THE STALLS TO THAT THE STRIP WHICH PASSED THROUGH THE THROAT, OVER THE SEPARATING EDGE AND THROUGH THE GUIDE SLOTS IS PREVENTED FROM INADVERTENT TEARING.   D R A W I N G

Jan. 12, 1971 J, c. BROEMMLSIEK 3,554,847

DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR ROLL LABELS Filed Nov. 13, 196

United States Patent Int. Cl. B32b Int. Cl. 156-584 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The dispensing container includes an upper wall having an outwardly turned flange, the flange including a separating edge; and a hinged lid also having an outwardly turned flange. The flanges are adjacent when the lid is closed. The bend lines at the juncture of the upper wall and its flange, and the lid and its flange, define a throat receiving the loaded strip of labels. The lid bend line provides a pressure edge adjustably disposed relative to the loaded strip. The interior of the container is subdivided into a plurality of stalls each accommodating one roll. A guide plate above the upper plate includes a plurality of downwardly projecting tabs forming slots in register with the stalls so that the strip which passed through the throat, over the separating edge and through the guide slots is prevented from inadvertent tearing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Dispensers for the type of roll labels herein considered have existed for a number of years. One type of dispenser provides a flat, square cartridge designed to accommodate one roll of labels and constructed of cardboard or like material, the cartridge being provided with a metal or plastic device adapted to separate the labels from the backing strip. Another type of dispenser provides a plurality of guidebars separating the labels and directing the strip after it leaves the container in a predetermined direction. Dispensing containers also are known which accommodate a plurality of rolls of labels, and include improvements such as pickup bars from which the labels, when separated, may be retrieved.

All of the known dispensers of roll labels of the type having a peelable backing strip, including those noted above, have in common a relatively narrow edge around which the backing strip is pulled to elfectuate separation between the backing strip and the labels temporarily attached thereto. The present container likewise includes a separating edge, but provides in addition substantial improvements which are not found in the known prior art.

It has been observed by applicant that when the backing strip passes over the separating edge under tension, the degree of tension in the strip increases the efiiciency of the separation process. Therefore, means is provided prior to the separation stage which assist in tensioning the strip. Moreover, because the strips are invariably of a lightweight paper material, and hence are highly susceptible to tearing, a guide means is provided to insure that the strip passes over the separating edge substantially at right angles, thereby virtually precluding inadvertent 3,554,847 Patented Jan. 12, 1971 tearing of the strip at this location. Other advantages of the present dispensing container will appear from the detailed description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The container includes a wall having an outwardly turned flange, the flange including a free edge spaced from and parallel to the wall and adapted to separate the labels from the backing strip.

A hinged closure means including pressure contact means adjacent to the wall flange causes line pressure contact between the closure means and the loaded strip prior to separation of the labels. The closure means includes a lid having an outwardly turned flange, and a bend line between the lid and the flange that provides the pressure contact means.

The bend lines between the wall and its flange, and between the lid and its flange selectively define an elongate throat adapted to receive the backing strip. The wall flange and the lid flange diverge outwardly from the throat.

The container includes sidewalls, and the lid includes a pair of opposing side flanges which cooperate with the sidewalls to hold the lid substantially closed, yet permit variation in the size of throat opening.

The container is partitioned into a plurality of stalls, each adapted to accommodate a roll of labels.

A guide plate is disposed outwardly of the Wall, yet inwardly of the free edge of the flange, the guide plate including a plurality of downwardly depending tabs extending between the guide plate and the wall to partition the space therebetween into a plurality of slots, each adapted to freely receive an unloaded backing strip.

The wall means includes a plurality of perforations in register with and receiving the tabs, and the tabs extend into the container so that the slots are in register with the stalls, the tabs being adapted to hold the rolls when fully wound. The tabs are disposed in parallel alignment with the free edge, whereby to guide the backing strip substantially at right angles to the separating edge, there precluding inadvertent tearing of the backing strip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dispenser container;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof, the sidewall being cut away to disclose the interior;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view on line 3-3 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the throat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now by characters of reference to the drawing and first to FIG. 1, it will be understood that the dispenser container 10 is oriented as shown for convenience of description only, and that the container 10 could be mounted on a support in a different orientation. With the foregoing qualification borne in mind, the description which follows will refer to the container arranged as shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 of the drawing.

Broadly speaking, the dispensing container 10 is a sixsided box including an upper wall 11, a pair of opposing sidewalls 12, a lower wall 13-, and a rear wall 14. An access lid 15 provides a closure means for the container 10. The lid 15 is hingedly attached at its lower end to the lower wall 13 by a hinge '16. A pair of opposing side 3 flanges 17 cooperates with the sidewalls 12, as by frictional contact, so that the lid may be adjusted to remain in a slightly open position. A knob provides a pull by which the lid 15 may be opened and closed.

In the preferred example, the container 10 is constructed of lightweight sheet metal. In order to facilitate this construction, the upper wall 11 and the rear wall 14 are constructed from a single, angle-sheet of metal. Similarly, the lower wall 13 and the sidewalls 12 are made from a single, channel-shaped sheet of metal. As may be clearly observed in FIG. 3, the sidewalls 12 are provided with elongate tabs 21 by which the sidewalls 12 and the rear wall 14 are attached, as by spot welding. In a like manner, the sidewalls 12 are provided with elongate tabs 22 along their upper edge by which the sidewalls 12 are attached to the upper wall 11. Similarly the lower wall 13 includes an elongate tab 23 by which the lower wall 13 is attached to the rear wall 14.

A set of partitions 24 is provided interiorly of the container 10, which includes a plurality of substantially iLshaped plates 25 mounted on a base plate 26. The plates 25 are disposed at spaced intervals along the base plate 13 to provide a plurality of stalls 27, each of which is adapted to accommodate a roll of labels. One such roll 30 is shown in position in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The roll 30 is of the type which includes a relatively thin, continuous backing strip 31 having a smooth waxlike surface, the strip 31 being loaded with a plurality of substantially independent labels 32. The labels 32 may be separated completely from each other as shown in FIG. 3 or they may be part of a strip of labels, initially continuous, the labels having been separated from each other by a knife cut between each label. In any event, there is a zone, or line of weakness between each label, so that the structural strength of the roll at this location is that of the backing strip 31 alone. The labels 32 include a tacky substance on their underside providing them with temporary adhesion to the backing strip 30, and permitting a more permanent adhesion to the item to which they are ultimately to identify. The labels 32 may be removed as desired by peeling from the backing strip 31.

It will be understood that the dispensing container 10 provides the means by which the labels may be peeled from the backing strip semi-automatically.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, and first to FIG. 3, the upper wall '11 includes an elongate flange 33 having an upper edge 34 substantially parallel to and spaced from the upper wall 11 and constituting a separating edge. The juncture between the flange 33 and the upper wall 11 provides a bend line 36. The lid 15 also includes an elongated flange disposed upwardly and outwardly from the upper edge of the lid 15, and provided with an upper edge 41 substantially parallel to and spaced outwardly from the lid 15. The juncture between the lid flange 33 and the lid 15 provides a bend line 42.

The peeling action of the label 32 from the backing strip 31 occurs when the backing strip 31 is pulled over the upper or separating edge 34 at an oblique angle. Because of its inherent stiffness, the label 32 continues to move in the direction given to it prior to separation until the zone of weakness between the labels is reached. Further forward movement of the backing strip 31 flips the label 32 forward over the upper edge 34.

In order for the above sequence of events to take place, it is essential that the backing strip be maintained in a state of tension, and that the angular change in the direction of the backing strip 31 be suflicient to cause the desired peeling of the label 32 from the backing strip 31.

By analogy, the roll 25 and the edge 34 are somewhat similar to a pair of pulleys driven by the backing strip 31 acting as a belt. Thus, by applying a force to the backing strip 31 at a point prior to its separation, the strip 31 may be tensioned in much the same way as a belt tensioner tightens a pulley belt. This tensioning of strip 31 takes place by applying a positive force through the medium of the bend line 42 against the loaded strip 31 as it passes the bend line 36. As may be clearly seen in FIG. 4, the throat 43 defined by the two bend lines 36 and 42 forms a restriction at which pressure may be applied to the strip by the simple expedient of adjusting the lid 15 about its hinge 16. This adjustment is maintained by the frictional cooperation between the side flanges 17 of the lid 15 and the sidewalls 12. The frictional resistance may be augmented by the provision of a protuberance 44 on each sidewall located under the upper end of the sidewall flanges 17, when the lid 15 is in a substantially closed position.

In order to maintain the backing strip 31 at a substantially constant acute angle with the flange 33 a channelshaped guide plate 50, which is disposed in spaced relation a suflicient distance above the upper wall 11 to ensure that the backing strip 31 may pass freely therebetween.

Because the backing strip 31 is relatively thin and has tension applied to it, it is essential that it be pulled over the separating edge 34 in a direction perpendicular to that edge 34. To this end, the guide plate 50 is provided with a plurality of aligned tabs 51 which are punched from the plate 50 and which depend downwardly through a plurality of perforations 52 in the upper wall 11. The perforations 52 are in register with the tabs 51. Because the tabs 51 extend through the upper wall 11, a plurality of slots 53 is provided, each slot 53 being defined by the guide plate 50, the upper wall 11 and the tabs 51. Each slot 53 is adapted to receive a backing strip 31 without the possibility of the strip 31 floating from side to side beyond the confines of the associated tabs 51.

Each downwardly depending tab 51 is in register with a partition plate 25. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the roll 30, when initially placed into the container 10, may be held in place at its upper as well as its lower portion. Of course, it will be realized that the slots 53 and the stalls 27 are in register, and that this facilitates the perpendicular movement of the backing strip 31 over the separating edge 34.

It is thought that the functional advantages of this dispensing container have become fully apparent from the foregoing description of parts, but for completeness of disclosure the use of the container will be briefly described.

The set of partitions 24 is placed within the container, so that the toe of the base plate 26 substantially abuts the horizontal leg 18 of the hinge 16. One or more rolls 30 are placed in position in their respective stalls 27, and the loaded backing strip 31 is drawn over the separating edge 34 and is threaded through its associated slot 53 to protrude beyond the guide plate 50, where it may be grasped by the hand of an operator.

The lid 15 is closed, thereby bringing the bend line 42, at the juncture of the lid flange 40, into contact with the strip of labels. Because of the frictional cooperation between the side flanges 17 of the lid 15 and the sidewalls 12, the proximity of the lid 15, and therefore the bend line 42, to the wall flange 33 may be adjusted to produce the requisite pressure on the strip 31.

By applying a pull to the end of the backing strip 31, the backing strip 31 is tensioned somewhat because of the resistance offered by the action of the bend line 42 against the strip 31. An increase in the amount of pull draws the strip 31 of labels between the throat 43 and, because of the acuteness of the angle between the backing strip 31 and the upper wall flange 33, a label 32 is separated from the backing strip 31 as the backing strip 31 is pulled around the separating edge 34. When the space between adjacent labels 32 arrives at the separating edge 34, the forwardmost label 32 is flipped forward and, because of its curved shape when separated, is supported at each of its ends on the backing strip 31. The separated label may then be lifted from the backing strip 31 and used for its function of an identifying label.

Although the invention has been described by making detailed reference to a single preferred embodiment, such detail is to be understood in an instructive rather than in any restrictive sense, many variations being possible within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

I claim as my invention:

1 A dispensing container for roll labels of the'type having a backing strip, the container comprising:

(a) an upper wall, including an outwardly turned flange at one end of the wall, the flange having a free edge spaced from the wall over which the backing strip is pulled at an oblique angle to separate the labels from the backing strip,

(b) a lower wall disposed in spaced relation from the upper wall,

() closure means extending between the upper wall and the lower wall and hingedly attached at one end to the lower wall, the closure means including pressure contact means at the opposite end adapted to cause pressure contact between the closure means and the loaded backing strip on a line disposed below the free edge of the flange and maintain tension on the backing strip, and

(d) means selectively adjusting the spaced relation between the pressure contact means and the flange.

2. A dispensing container as defined in claim 1, in

which:

(e) the closure means includes a lid having an outwardly turned flange, and

( f) the pressure contact means is provided by the bend at the juncture of the lid and lid flange.

3. A dispensing container as defined in claim 1, in

which:

(e) the closure means includes a lid having a flange,

(f) the pressure contact means is provided by the bend at the juncture of the lid and the lid flange,

(g) the juncture between theupper wall and wall flange provides a second bend, and,

(h) the two bends selectively provide an elongate throat adapted to receive the strip.

4. A dispensing container for roll labels of the type having a backing strip, the container comprising:

(a) an upper wall, including an outwardly turned flange at one end of the wall, the flange having a free edge spaced from the wall and adapted to separate the labels from the backing strip,

(b) a lower wall disposed in spaced relation from the upper wall,

(c) closure means extending between the upper wall and the lower wall and hingedly attached at one end to the lower wall, the closure means including pressure contact means at the opposite end adapted to cause pressure contact between the closure means and the loading backing strip on a line disposed below the free edge of the flange,

(d) means selectively adjusting the spaced relation between the pressure contact means and the flange,

(e) the closure means includes a lid having a flange,

(f) the pressure contact means provided by the bend at the juncture of the lid and the lid flange,

(g) the juncture between the upper wall and wall flange provides a second bend,

(h) the two bends selectively provide an elongate throat adapted to receive the strip, and

(i) the wall flange and the lid flange diverging outwardly from the throat.

5. A dispensing container for roll labels of the type having a backing strip, the container comprising:

(a) an upper wall, including an outwardly turned flange at one end of the wall, the-flange having a free edge spaced from the wall and adapted to separate the labels from the backing strip,

(b) a lower wall disposed in spaced relation from the upper wall,

(c) closure means extending between the upper Wall and the lower wall and hingedly attached at one end to the lower wall, the closure means including pressure contact means at the opposite end adapted to cause pressure contact between the closure means and the loading backing strip on a line disposed below the free edge of the flange,

(d) means selectively adjusting the spaced relation between the pressure contact means and the flange,

(e) the container being partitioned into a plurality of stalls, each adapted to accommodate a roll,

(f) a guide plate disposed in spaced relation above the upper wall and below the outer edge of the wall flange, and

(-g) the guide plate including a plurality of downwardly depending tabs extending between the guide plate and the upper wall to partition the space between the guide plate and the upper wall into a plurality of guide slots, each slot being adapted to freely receive the unloaded backing strip.

6. A dispensing container as defined in claim 5, in

which:

(h) the upper wall includes a plurality of perforations in register with and receiving the tabs.

7. A dispensing container as defined in claim 6, in

which:

(i) the slots are substantially in register with the stalls,

and

(j) the tabs extend into the container and are adapted to hold the rolls.

8. A dispensing container as defined in claim 7 in I which:

(k) the tabs are disposed in parallel alignment with the outer edge of the wall flange, whereby to guide the backing strip substantially at right angles to the free edge, and to preclude diagonal orientation of the strip and avert inadvertent tearing of the backing strip.

9. A dispensing container for roll labels of the type having a backing strip, the container comprising:

(a) an upper wall, including an outwardly turned flange at one end of the wall, the flange having a free edge spaced from the wall, and adapted to separate the labels from the backing strip,

(b) a lower wall disposed in spaced relation from the upper wall,

(c) closure means extending between the upper wall and the lower wall and hingedly attached at one end to the lower wall, the closure means including pressure contact means at the opposite end adapted to cause pressure contact between the closure means and the loading backing strip on a line disposed below the free edge of the flange,

(d) means selectively adjusting the spaced relation between the pressure contact means and the flange,

(e) the closure means including a lid having an outwardly turned flange,

(f) the pressure contact means being provided by a bend at the junction of the lid and lid flange,

(g) the juncture between the upper wall and wall flange providing a second bend,

(h) the two bends selectively providing an elongate throat adapted to receive the strip,

(i) a pair of opposing sidewalls interconnecting the upper wall and the lower wall,

(j) the closure means including a pair of opposing side flanges cooperating with the sidewalls to permit variation in the size of throat opening,

(k) the container being partitioned into a plurality of stalls, each adapted to accommodate a roll,

(1) a guide plate disposed in spaced relation above the upper wall yet below the outer edge of the wall flange,

(m) the guide plate including an aligned row of tabs substantially parallel with the outer edge of the wall flange,

(n) the upper wall including a plurality of perfora- References Cited tions in register with and receiving the tabs, the UNITED STATES PATENTS tabs extending into the interior of the container, and

(0) the tabs providing a plurality of slots in register with the partitioned stalls in the container, the slots providing guide means, each slot directing an associated backing strip perpendicularly over the separating outer edge of the wall flange.

3,173,728 3/1965 Sheer 3l29l 3,231,130 1/1966 Foote 312-39 SAMUEL FEINBERG, Primary Examiner 

